Harborough Welcomes the Retention of Railway Ticket Offices

Both the leader of Harborough District Council and our local MP are welcoming today’s scrapping of plans to close hundreds of railway ticket offices.

The Government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals because it says they failed to meet high passenger standards.

During the public consultation, over the summer, Cllr Phil Knowles met with East Midlands Railway in a bid to save the Ticket Office facility at Market Harborough {pictured top – courtesy of Steve Jones} , flagging the concerns of the District Council, rail users and residents.

Cllr Knowles says: “I hoped that by our intervention earlier this year we might achieve a rethink by the powers that be. We evidenced our concerns and the breaking news will be welcomed by so many.”

MP Neil O’Brien has also been vocal in his opposition to the proposals – pointing out that passenger numbers at the town’s station soared by a third between 2010 and 2020.

“I have been campaigning against plans to shut our station ticket offices, and it is good news for local people that those plans have now been dropped” he says. “When I met the Rail Minister Huw Merriman a while back I told him that people didn’t want this, and I raised concerns about those who have disabilities or don’t like using the machines. When I spoke to staff at Market Harborough station it was clear that they are already working in a flexible way. We are about to get new trains and also benefit from the ongoing electrification work between Kettering up to Wigston. So all that growth will tend to support use of the ticket office.”

He adds: “I’m glad that the department for transport and the rail industry have now listened and dropped these plans, so we can keep our ticket office. This is good news for rail travellers.”

Neil O’Brien MP at Market Harborough Railway Station

Leicestershire County Council‘s cabinet member for transport, Cllr Ozzy O’Shea, has also welcomed today’s government announcement.

He says: “It was clear, when I’ve been out and about in the county, that these proposals were very unpopular. It had the potential to make train travel more difficult for some people and reduce their travel options, particularly users of the railway who are elderly and disabled. Train travel must be reasonable, accessible, and made as simple as possible.”